The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for introducing new subscriber services into a telecommunications network. More specifically, the invention provides for storing programming code, which implements a particular subscriber service, on a card containing a magnetic storage medium and downloading the programming code from the card into an established network. The downloaded programming code is then operated on by the inherent processing capability of the network to provide the particular service to the subscriber.
Currently, when new subscriber services are to be introduced into a provider network, significant programming modifications are required to be made to the network. The network must be provisioned before the services can be provided to the subscriber. Thus, this requirement to modify the network infrastructure significantly reduces the service provider's capability to rapidly introduce new subscriber services. The new services are not able to be provided real-time by the network upon the demand of the subscriber, but rather are only able to be provided after substantial provisioning of the network.
Additionally, the service provider's ability to customize the currently available services that are provided on the network, to meet specific subscriber desires, is greatly diminished by the requirement to modify the network's infrastructure in order to customize a service.
A currently known method for providing new services to consumers is to provide the consumer with a "smart card". However, this method presents drawbacks. A smart card, which is essentially a processing device, is provided to the subscriber. However, because the smart card requires its own microprocessor and memory, producing the card and implementing the new service can be an expensive and complex undertaking.
An additional known method of providing a network subscriber service to a subscriber is to provide the subscriber with a "dumb" card that contains a computer readable magnetic stripe on which is stored data related to the subscriber and the particular service. The data stored on the stripe is input into the network by swiping the card through a card reader. The data is then processed by the network. Whereas the data on the card may be modified relatively quickly by the service provider, the programming code required to process the data is resident in the provider network and thus any modification of the code itself still requires complex reconfiguring of the network. Again, the network must be provisioned well before the service is made available to the subscriber. Therefore, with this method of providing services to a subscriber, the data utilized by the service may be modified in a timely manner, however, the service itself is not able to be implemented or modified without requiring extensive reconfiguring of the provider network.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for rapidly creating new subscriber services in a network and for providing for real time provisioning of the network when implementing the new subscriber services.